Ambrosia Sorbet

This is a nice change of pace from ice cream... not that a change of pace is needed when you have ice cream, but, ya know. :)

I didn't have 12 oranges so I just used bottled orange juice. Much quicker. :)

Ambrosia Sorbet

11-12 navel oranges

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 cup cream of coconut

Grate enough orange rind to equal two teaspoons. Cut oranges in half and squeeze enough juice to equal 3 cups.

Bring water to a boil and add sugar. Cook until sugar dissolves then remove from heat. Add oranges, orange zest, and cream of coconut.

Chill for at least 2 hours then freeze according to manufacturer's instructions with ice cream maker.

From Southern Living

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

This recipe is sooo yummy! I don't know if it's entirely guiltless, but it's good! We have used it for grilled pizzas and I mixed the leftover sauce with a can of tomato sauce and Italian seasoning and it made a good creamy marinara.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

2 C low-fat milk

1/3 C (3oz) cream cheese

2 T flour

1 tsp salt

1 T butter

3 cloves garlic

1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Combine milk, cream cheese, flour and salt in a blender. Process until smooth then set aside. In a sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Saute until fragrant. Add milk mixture to pan. Stir constantly for about 3-4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Cook until thickened then remove from heat. Add cheese and stir immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes.

**If you have leftovers that turn solid in the refrigerator, just reheat with a little extra milk to get the right consistency again.

Recipe from ourbestbites.com

Italian Baked Tortilla Chips

In the Better Homes and Gardens magazine this month (I'm still getting them from Grandad's old subscription) they had a page with ideas for baked tortilla chips. I was gone, but Jeremy wanted a snack so he decided to try some. We didn't have some ingredients for the ones they suggested so he baked his own and they turned out quite tastey!

Italian Baked Tortilla Chips

smallish tortillas (not burrito size)
olive oil
garlic salt
Italian seasoning
Italian blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tortillas on baking sheet. Brush tortilla tops with olive oil. Sprinkle on garlic salt, Italian seasoning and a small amount of Italian blend cheese (you still want to see the tortilla under the cheese). Bake for about 10 minutes or until crisp or semi-crisp.

These were really quick and really yummy. The magazine suggested doing a Southwest one with olive oil, cumin, smoked paprika and coarse salt. Another combo that sounded good was a pepper-lime one: mix some green hot pepper sauce with olive oil and then sprinkle lime zest on top. We haven't tried these other ones yet, but they sounded good so I thought I'd pass them along.

Bobby's Philly Burgers

This is our version of Bobby Flay's Philly Burgers. We made these for Becky's birthday dinner tonight.

Bobby's Philly Burgers

1 1/2 Ib (80/20) ground beef

Canola oil

Salt

Pepper

8 slices provolone cheese

1 red bell pepper

1 green pepper

1 Onion (Bobby suggests a Spanish onion, I used white cause I didn't know what a Spanish onion is and you know, it's not like Waldemort ever has anything out of ordinary...)

Sliced peperoncini peppers

Hamburger buns

Divide hamburger into 4 equal portions and gently shape into patties, no more than 3/4 inch thick (don't overwork the meat). Make a depression in the center with your thumb so the burger won't bulge, the indent will rise as the patty cooks. Heat the grill to high. Brush the burgers with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown and slightly charred, turning once (7 minutes for medium-rare). Avoid pressing with a spatula! Add cheese the last minute of grilling and close the lid so the cheese melts.

Meanwhile, slice the peppers into thin slices and slice the onion into rings. Saute the peppers and onions in a little oil until soft and delicious.

Top burgers with peperoncini (to taste) and peppers and onions and of course the bun!

Thanks Bobby Flay!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This is a rich and delicious cake and so easy to make! Even better, the kids had no clue that there was zucchini in it and they loved it! I left out the walnuts because I knew they wouldn't eat it then but I'm sure walnuts would be just lovely in the cake. And, the picture I took last night didn't work so I'm gonna have to take another one right now so I guess I'll have to have cake for lunch. Shoot!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 C all-purpose flour

2 C white sugar

3/4 C baking cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4 eggs

1 1/2 C vegetable oil

3 C grated zucchini

3/4 C chopped walnuts, optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the eggs and oil; mix well. Fold in the zucchini and nuts until evenly distributed. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely then frost with whatever kind of frosting you like or sprinkle top with powdered sugar.

Original recipe found on allrecipes.com.

Spinach Herb Twists

We loved these and Jeremy even gave them a 10!



Spinach Herb Twists

for the dough:
3 c. flour, plus more for kneading
1 pkg yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. warm (105-110 degrees) water
1 tsp sugar
 
for the filling:
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
4-6 oz asiago or parmesean cheese, grated
1 clove garlic
1 tsbp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
 
for the dough:

PLACE sugar, water and yeast in a bowl and allow the yeast to proof (get foamy)
add flour, salt and oil and mix in the bowl until it begins to form a sticky dough
place onto a well floured counter top and begin to knead, adding flour a little at a time until the dough is no longer tacky, then knead until the dough is smooth and elastic – about 7-10 minutes

place into an oiled bowl and let rise about 1/2 hour. Meanwhile, steam spinach and squeeze dry. In a medium bowl, mix spinach with remaining filling ingredients.

Punch down and divide into two pieces

roll out to about 1/2 inch in thickness – a rectangle about 6 X 15 inches
brush with two tablespoons of melted butter and add one half of the filling, spreading evenly

using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into strips about – 1 1/2  inches wide – about 10 of them -

twist and place onto a cookie sheet

do the same to the remaining half of dough and filling – allow to rise for about 20 minutes

bake at 400 for 8-11 minutes, or until lightly browned